Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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federation of independent States, they were associated only by community of traus-atlautic origin, by geographical position, aud by the mutual tie of common dependence on Great Britain. "When that tie was sundered, they severally assumed the powers and rights of absolute self-government. The municipal and social institutions of each, its laws of property and of personal relation, even its political organization, were such only as each one chose to establish, wholly without interference from any other. In the language of the Declaration of Independence, each State had "full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliance, establish commerce, and to do all other acts and things which independent States may of right do." The several colonies differed in climate, in soil, in natural productions, in religion, in systems of eduolRon, in legislation, and in the forms of political administration ; and they oontinued to differ in these respects when they voluntarily allied themselves as States to carry on the war of the revolution. The object of that war was to disenthral the United Colonies from foreign rule, which had * ' ' " 4 ? -ii* I proved to De oppressive, ana to sepaioic permanently from the mother country; the political result was the foundation of a federal republic of the free white men of the colonies, constituted, as they were, in distinct, and reciprocally independent State governments.? As for the subject races, whether Indian or African, the wise and brave statesmen of that day being engaged in no extravagant scheme of social change left them as they were, and thus preserved themselves and their posterity from the anarchy, and the ever-recurring civil wars, - which have prevailed in the revolutionized European colonies of America. When the confederated States found it convenient to modify the conditions of their association, by giving to the general government direct access, in some respects, to the people of the States, instead of confining it to action oh the States as such, they proceeded to frame the existing Constitution, adhering steadily to # the guiding thought, which was to delegate only such power as was necessary and proper to the execution of specific purposes, or, in other words, to retain as much as possible, consistently with those purposes of the independent powers of the individual States. For objects ' - > il ot common aetence ana security, wiey euauusied to the genera] government certain carefully defined functions, leaving all others as the undelegated rights of the separate independent sovereignties. Such is the constitutional theory of our government, the practical observance of which has carried us, and us alone among modern republics, through nearly three generations of time without the cost of one drop of blood shed in civil war. With freedom and concert of ac tion it has enabled ug to contend successfully on the battle-field against foreign foes, has elevated the feeble colonies into powerful State?, and has raised our industrial productions, and our commerce which transports them, to the level of the richest and the greatest nations of Europe. And the admirable adaptation of our political institutions to their objects, combining local self-government with aggregate strength, has established the practicability of a government like ours to cover a continent with confederate States, The Congress of United States is, in effect, that consress of sovereignties, which good men in the Old World have sought for, but could never attain, and which imparts to America an exemption from the mutable leagues for common action, from the wars, the m-itual invasions, and vague aspirations after the balance of power, which convulse from time to time the governments of Europe. Our co-operative action rests in the conditions of premauent confederation prescribed by the constitution. Our balance of power is^in the seperate reserved rights of the States and their equal representation in the Senate. That independent sovereignty in every one of the States, with its reserved rights of local self-government assured to each by their co-equal power in the Senate was the fundamental condition of the Constitution. Without it the Union would never have existed. However desirous the larger States might be to re-organize the government so as to give to their population its proportionate weight in the common counsels, they kuew it was impossible, unless they conceded to the smaller ones authority to exercise at least a negative influence on all the measures of the government, whether legislative or executive, through their equal representations in the Senate. Indeed, the larger States themselves would not have failed to perceive, that the same power was equally necessary to them, for the security of thoir own domestic interest agaiusc the aggregate force of the general government. In a word, the original States went into this permanent league on the agreed premises, of exerting their commou strength for the defence of the whole, and of all its parts, but of utterly excluding all capability of reciprocal aggession. Each solemnly bound itself to all the others, neither to undertake, nor permit, any encroachment upon, or intermeddling with, another's rnsnrvfid rights. Where it was deemed expedient, particular rights of the States were expressly guarauticd by the constitution ; but, in all things beside, these rights were guarded by the limitation of the powers granted, and by express reservation of all powers not granted, iu the compact of union. Thus, the great power of taxationn was limited to purposes of common defence and general welfare, excluding objects appertaining to the local legislation of the several States, and those purposes wi geueral welfare and common defence were afterwards defined by specific enumeration, as beiusi matters only of co-relation between the States themselves, or between them and foreign governments, which, because of their common and general nature, could uot be left to the separate control of each State. Of the circumstances o! local coudition, interest and right, iu which a portion of the States, constituting one great section of the TTr?i/\ri rtiffiurnd fprtni t tu- lv>st !irul frnill :mr?tll OUiVUj UlUViVV* VMV .ww%, ? er section, the .most important was the peculiarity of a larger relative colored population in the Southern thau in Northern States. A population of this class, held iu subjection, existed iu nearly all the States, but was more numerous and of more serious concernment in the South than in the North, on account of natural differences of climate aud production; and it was foreseen that, for the same reasons, while this population would di minish, aud sooner or later ccu?e to exist in some States, it might increase in ..the s. The peculiar character aud ma?riiiluJe oi this ijuostion of local rights, not in1 material relations only, but still more in social ones, caused it to enter into the speciai stipulations of tinConstitution. Hence, while the Geueral Government, as well by the enumerated powers granted to it, as by those uot enumerated, and tneielorc refused to it, was forbidden to t-.uch this matter in the sense of attack or ofi-mo ? w pin-ed under the general smcguaru 01 the cuion, in the sense of defence against either invasion or domestic violence, like all other local interests , of the several States. Each State expressly i stipulated, as well for itself as for each and all ' of its citizens, and every citizen of each State became solemnly bound by his allegiance to the Constitution, that any person, held to ser- j vice or labor in one State, escaping into auoth- ; er, should not, in consequence of any law or regulation thereof, be discharged from such service or labor, but should be delivered up on Aloi'm nf fho nnrtv tn whom such service or I ?- r?j ? labor might be due by the laws of his State. Thus, and thus only, by the reciprocal guaranty of all the rights of every State against interference on the part of another, was the present form of government established by our fathers, and transmitted to us; and by no other means is it possible for it to exist. If one State ceases to respect the rights of another obstrusively intermeddles with its local interests?if a portion of the States assume to impose their institutions on the others, or refuse to fulfil their obligations to them?we are no ! longer united, friendly States, but distracted, hostile ones, with little capacity left of common advantage, but abundant means of reciprocal injury and mischief. Practically, it is immaterial whether aggressive interference between the States, or deliberate refusal on the part of any one of them to comply with constitutional obligations, arise from erroneous conviction or blind prejudice, whether it be perpetrated by direction or indirection. In either case, it is full of threat and of danger to durability of the Union. Constitutional Relations oe Slavery. Placed in the office of Chief Magistrate as the executive agent of the whole country, bound to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, and specially enjoined by the constitution to give information to Congress on the state of the Union) it would be palpable neglect of duty on my part to pass over a subject like this, which, beyond all things at the present time, vitally concerns individual and public security. It has been matter of painful regret to see States, conspicuous for their service in founding this Republic, and equally sharing its advantages, disregarding their constitutional obligations to it. Although conscious of their inability to heal admitted and palpable social evils of their own, and which are completely within their jurisdiction, they engage in the offensive, hopeless undertaking of reforming the domestic institutions of other States wholly beyond their control and authority. In the vain pursuit of ends, by them entirely unattainable, and which they may not legally attempt to compass, they peril the very existence of the Constitution, and all the benefits which it has confjer**^ ""While the people of theSautWnTBtates confine their attention ur'tfieiT own affairs, not presuming officiously to intermeddle with the social institutions of the Northern States, too many of the inhabitants of the latter are permanently organized in association to inflict injury on the former, by wrongful acts which would be cause of war as between foreign powers, and only fail to be such in our system because perpetrated under cover of the Union. It is impossible to present this subject as truth and the occasion require, without noticing the reiterated, but groundless, allegation, that the South has persistently asserted claims and obtained advantages in the practical administration of the General Government, to the prejudice of the North, and in which the latter has acquiesced. That is, the States which either promote or tolerate attacks on the rights of persoDe and of property in other States, to disguise their own injustice, pretend or imagine and constantly aver, that they, whose constitutional rights are thus systematically assailed, are themselves the aggressors. At the present time, this imputed aggression, resting as it does only in the vague declamatory charges of political agitators, resolves itself into misapprehension or misinterpretation of the principles and facts of the political organizatiou of the new Territories of the United States. What is the voice of history? When the ordinance, which provided for the government of the territory northwest of the river Ohio, and for its eventual sub-division into new States, was-adopted in Congress of the confederation, it is not to be supposed that the question of future relative power, as between the States which retained, and those which did not retain, a numerous colored population, escaped notice, or failed to be considered. And yet the concession of that vast territory to the interests and opiuions of the Northern States, a territory uow the seat of live among the largest members of the Union, was, in a great measure, the act of the State of Virginia and of the South. When Louisiana was acquired by the United States, it was aD acquisition not less to the North than to the South ; for while it was important to the country at the mouth of the river Mississippi to become the emporium of the country auovc it, so aiso it was even more important to the whole Union to have that emporium ; and although the new province, by reason of its imperfect settlement, was mainly retarded as on the Gulf of Mexico, yet, in fact, it extended to the opposite boundaries of the United Suites, with far greater breadth above than below, aud was in territory, as in everything else, equally at least an accession to the Northern States. It is mere delusion and prejudice, therefore, to speak of Louisiana as acquisition to the special interest of the South. The patriotic and just men who participated in that act were influenced by motives far above all sectional jealousies. It was in truth the great event, which, by completing for us the possession of the valley of the Mississippi, with commercial access to the Gulf of Mexico, imparted unity and strength to the whole confederation, and attached together by indissoluble ties the East aud the West, as well as the North aud the South. As to Florida, that was but the transfer by Spain to the United States of territory on the east side of the river Mississippi, in exchange for large territory which the United States transferred to Spain on the west side of that river, as the entire diplomatic history of the transaction serves to demonstrate. Moreover, it was an acquisition demanded by the commercial interests aud the security of the whole Union. Ill the uicautiiuc, the people of the United States li:ul grown up to a proper consciousness of their strength, and in a brief contest with France, and in a second serious war with Great Britain, they had shaken off all which remained of uudue reverence for Europe, aud emerged from the atmosphere of those transatlantic influences which surrounded the infant .Republic, and had begun to turn their attention to the full aud systematic development of the internal resources of the Union. Among the evaucscent controversies of that petiod, the most conspicuous was the question of regulation by Congress of the social condition of the future States to be founded in the territory of Louisiana. The ordinance for the government of the territory north-west of the river Ohio had contained a provision which prohibited the use of servile labor therein, subject to the condition of the extradition of fugitives from service due in any other part of the United States Subsequently to the adoption of the Constitution, this provision ceased to remain as a law; for its operation as such was absolutely superceded by the Constitution But the recollection of the fact excited the zeal of social propagandism in some sections of the confederation; and, when a second State, that of Missouri, came to be formed in the territory of Louisiana, proposition was made to extend to the latter territoj ry the restriction originally applied to the ! country situated between the rivers Ohio and Mississippi. Most unquestionable as was this proposition in all its constitutional relations, nevertheless it received the sanction of Congress, with some j '' K?a ointA Avicfmrr ! SUgUl UIUUIUUUUULIS Ul 11 Liej IV sate me vnuo-f, i rights of the intended new State. It was re- j : luctantly acquiesced in by Southern States as I a sacrifice to the cause of peace and of the Union, not only of the rights stipulated by the treaty of Louisiana, but of the principle of equality among the States guarantied by the Constitution. It was received by the Northern States with angry and resentful condemnation and complaint, because it did not concede all which they had exactiugly demanded. Having passed through the forms of legislature, it took its place iu the statute book, standing open to repeal, like any other act of doubtful constitutionality, subject to be pronounced null and void by the courts of law, and possessing no possible efficacy to control the rights of the States, which might thereafter be organized out of any part of the original territory of Louisiana. In all this, if any aggressions there were, any innovation upon pre-existing rights, to which ^portion of the Union are they justly chargeable ? This controversy passed away with the occasion, nothing surviving it save the dormant letter of the statute. But, long afterwards, when, by the proposed accession of the Republic of Texas, the United States were to take their next step in territorial greatness, a similar contingency occurred, and became the occasion for systematized attempts to intervene in the domestic affairs of one section of the Union, in defiance of their rights as States, and of the stipulations of the Constitution. These attempts assumed a practical di rection, in the shape of persevering endeavors, by some of the representatives, in both houses of Congress, to deprive the Sowthcrn'States of j the supposed benefit of the provisions of the "Set authorizing the organization of the State of Missouri. But the good sense of the people, and the vital force of the Constitution, triumphed over sectional prejudice and the political errors of the day, aud the State of Texas returned to the Union as she was, with social institutions which her people had chosen for themselves, and with express agreement by the re-annexing act, that she should be susceptible of subdivision into a plurality of States. Whatever advantage the interests of the Southern States, as such, gained by this, were far inferior in results, as they unfolded in the progress of time, to those which sprang from previous concessions made by the South. To every thoughtful friend of the Union?to the true lovers of their country?to all who longed and labored for the full success of this great experiment of republican institutions?it was cause of gratulation that such an opportunity had occurred to illustrate our advancing power on this continent, and to furnish to the world additional assurance of the strength and stability of the Constitution. Who would wish to see Florida still a European colony? Who would rejoice to hail Texas as a lone star, instead of one in the galaxy of States? Who does not appreciate the incalculable benefits of the acquisition of Louisiana? And yet narrow views and sectional purposes would inevitably have excluded them from the Union. onrtflinr cfmmrln fin flic SfiniC llflinf. P.11 sued when our victorious armies returned from Mexico, and it devolved on Congress to provide for the territories acquired by the treaty of Gaudaloupc Hidalgo. The great relations of the subject had now become distinct and clear to the perception of the public mind, which appreciated the evils of sectional controversy upon the question of the admissiou of new States. In that crisis intense solicitude pervaded the natiou. But the patriotic impulses of the popular heart, guided by the admonitory advice of the Father of his Country, rose superior to all the difficulties of the incorporation of a new empire into the Union. In the counsels of Congress there was manifested extreme antagonism of opinion and action between some representatives, who sought by the abusive and unconstitutional employment of the legislative powers of the government to interfere in the condition of the inchoate States, and to impose their own social theories upon the latter, and other representatives who repelled the interposition of the general government in this respect, and maintained the selfconstituting rights of States. In truth, the thing attempted was, in form alone, action of the general government, when iu reality it was the endeavor, by abuse of legislative power, to force the ideas of iuternal policy, entertained iu particular States, upon allied independent States. Once more the Constitution and Union triumphed signally. The new Territories were organized without restrictions on the disputed point, and were thus left to judge in that particular for themselves j and the sense of constitutional faith proved vigorous enough in Congress not only to accomplish this primary object, but also the incidental and hardly less important one, of so amending the provisions of the statute for the extradition of fugitives from service, as to place that public duty under the safeguard of the general government, and thus relieve from obstacles raised up by the legislation of some of the States. Vain declamation regarding the provisions of law for the extradition of fugitives from service, with occasional episodes of frantic effort to obstruct their execution by riot and murder, continued, for a brief time, to agitate certain localities. l>ut the true principle, of leaving each .State and Territory to regulate its own laws of labor, according to its own sense of right and expediency, had acquired fast hol^l of the public judgment, to such a degree, that, ! by comuiou couscut, it was observed in the ori guubmtion of the Territory of Washington. When, more recently, it became requisite to orgauize the Territories of Nebraska and Kansas, it was the natural and legitimate, if not the inevitable, consequence of previous events and legislation, that the same great and sound priuciple, which had already been applied to Utah and New Mexico, should be applied to them?that they should stand exempt from the restrictions proposed in the act relative to the State of Missouri. These restrictions were, in the estimation of many thoughtful men, null from the beginning, unauthorized by the Constitution, contrary to the treaty stipulations for the cession of Louisiana, and inconsistent with the equality of the States. They had been stripped of all moral authority, by persistent efforts to procure their indirect repeal through contradictory enactments. They had been practically abrogated by the legislation attending the organization of Utah, New Mexico, and Washington. If any vitality remained in them, it would have been taken away, in effect, by the new territorial acts, in the form originally proposed to the Senate at the first session of the last Congress. It was manly and ingenuous, as well as patriotic and just, to do this directly and plainly, and thus relieve the statue-book of an act, which might be of possible future injury, but of no possible future benefit; and tbe measure of its repeal was the final consumation and complete recognition of the principle, that no portion of the United States shall undertake, through assumption of the powers of the general government, to dictate the social institutions of any other portion. The scope and effect of the language of repeal were not left in doubt. It was declared, in terms, to be "the true intent and meaning of this act not to legislate slavery into and Territory or State, nor to exclude it therefrom, but to leave the people thereof perfectly free to form and regulate their domestic institutions in their own way, subject only to the Constitution of the United States." The measure could not be withstood upon its merits alone. It was attacked with violence on the false or delusive pretext that it constituted a breach of faith. Never was objection more utterly destitute of substantial justification. When, before, was it imagined by sensible men that a regulative or declarative statute, whether enacted ten or forty years ago, is irreparable?that an act of Congress is above the Constitution f If, indeed, there were in the facts any cause to impute bad faith, it would attach to those only who have never ceased, from the time of the enactment of the restrictive provision to the present day, to denounce and condemn it; who have constantly refused to complete it by needful supplementary legislation; who have spared no exertion to deprive it of moral force; who have themselves again and again attempted its repeal by the enactment of incompatible provisions; and who, by the inevitable re-actionary effect of their own violence on the subject, awakened the country to perception of the true constitutional principle, of leaving the matter involved to the discretion of the people of the respective existing or incipient States. It is not pretended that this principle, or any other, precludes the possibility of evils in practice, disturbed as political action is liable to bet by human passions. No form of government is exempt from inconveniences; but in this case they arc the result of the abuse, and not of the legitimate exercise, of the powers reserved or conferred in the organization of a Territory. They are not to be charged to the great principle of popular sovereignty; on the con+V? /\tt flJcnwnnor V..-1*nvn f lin i n f nil i rrnrtnn uatjj biigj kji ^ luivu^vuvv and patriotism of the people, exerting through the ballot box their peaceful and silent but irresistible power. If the friends of the Constitution arc to have another struggle, enemies could not present a more acceptable issue than that of a State, whose constitution clearly embraces "republican form of government/'being excluded from the Union because its domestic institutions may not in all respects comport with the ideas of what is wise and expedient entertained in nomcuthcr State." Fresh from groundless imputations of breach of faith against others, men will commence the agitation of this new question with indubitable violation of an express compact between the independent sovereign powers of the United States and of the republic of Texas, as well as of the old * and equally solemn compacts which assume the equality of all the States. But, deplorable as would be such a violation of compact in itself, and in all its direct consequences, that is the very least of the evils involved. When sectional agitators shall have succeeded in forcing on this issue, can their pretensions fail to be met by counter pretensions ? Will not different States be compelled respectively to meet extremes with extremes ? And, if either extreme carry its point, what is that so far forth but dissolution of the Union ? If a new State, formed from the territory of the United States, be absolutely excluded from admission therein, that fact of itself constitutes the disruption of union between it and the other States. But the progress of dissolution could not stop there.? Would not a sectional decision, producing such results by a majority of votes, either Northern or Southern, of necessity drive out the oppressed and aggrieved minority, and place in presence of each other two irreconcilcablc hostile confederations ? It is necessary to speak thus plainly of projects, the offspring of that sectional agitation now prevailing in some of the States, which are as impracticable as they are unconstitutional, aud which, if persevered in, must aud will end calamitously. It is cither disunion and civil war, or it is mere angry, idle, aimless disturbance of public peace and tranquility. Disunion for what? If the passionate rage of fanaticism and partisan spirit did not force the fact upon our atteution, it would be difficult to believe, that any considerable portion of the people of this enlightened country could have so surrendered themselves to a fanatical devotion to the supposed interests of the relatively few Africans in the United States, as totally to abandon and disregard the interests of the | twen^-fivc millions of Americans, to trample under foot the injunctions of moral and constitutional obligation, and to engage in plans of "? - # 1 ' i il 1 _ vindictive hostility against tiiose wiio are associated with tliciu in the enjoyment of the common heritage of our national institutions. Nor is it hostility against their fellow-citizens of one section of the Union alone. The interests, the honor, the duty, the peace, and the prosperity of the people of all sections arc equally involved and imperilled in this question. And are patriotic men in any part of the Union prepared, on such an issue, thus madly tu invite all the consequences of the forfeiture of their constitutional engagements ? It is impossible. The storm of phrensy and faction niuJt inevitably dash itself in vain against the unshaken rock of the Constitution. I shall never doubt it. I know that the Union is stronger a thousand times than all the wild and chimerical schemes of social chauge, which arc generated, one after another, in the unstable minds of visionary sophists and interested agitators. I rely confidently on the patriotism of the people, on the dignity and self-respect of the States, on the wisdom of Congress, and above all, on the continued gracious favor of Almighty God, to maiutain, against all enemies, whether at home or abroad, the sanctity of the Constitution and the integrity of the Union. FRANKLIN FIERCE. Washington, December 31, 1855. Cjjc ?0rkijHIe-^n(|mrer, j ?: r EDITED BY 0 SAM'L W. MELTON JOHN L. MILLEB. j b e YORKVILLEj S. C. i THURSDAY MORNING, JANUARY 10, 1866. ! C PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE. p Wo liarc excluded much of our usual variety in c order to give our readers the benefit of the publica- 8 tion entire of the President's Message. In every |, point of vciw it is an important document, and ought a to be read carefully by every intelligent citizen of P the country. We know that it is not the custom of j many, especially in South Carolina, to wade through t the long windings of such-like papers, and at the first 8 blush it occurred to us that the publication would be, ? as far as our readers arc concerned, a labor lost,? g Put a careful norusnl. renentcd acrain and aeain, has v convinced us that this paper is no common-place ? document, and we have published it with the earnest n hope that thereby every reader would be induced to li follow our example and with a like result. 4 In reference to such a papor, presenting a com- ? plctc, thorough and critical examination of every im- 0 portant point at issue, comment is unnecessary. Wo li have only to express our unqualified approval. In a every word, sentiment and doctrine we recognise a reflex of the opinions which, as a patriot and a South c Carolina, we have even been proud to entertain. A ' genuine glow of true, high-wrought patriotism is { caught from every sentence- as we read it. Wo took it up asking to ourselves, in language of old, "can any thing good come out Nazareth ?" and after poring over it again and again we laid it down, with ( the glad conviction that, (to comparo small things f with great,) even out of Nazareth has come the great- , est and the best. Oar own Calhoun, whose every ( thought is as a revered truth, would have been con- ^ tent with such an exposition of his creed; and, were ? he living, would ask for it such a place in the head i and heart of his people as they were wont to give j to words of his own. It is truly a noble paper? j noble in the unaffected simplicity of its diction?noble in tho patriotic devotion to the Constitution and ( the rights of tho States with which it was inspirod? ^ an 1 noble in tho earnest, fearless and self-devoting , spirit with which the cause of the right is sustained, ( and the oppression of tho strong both at home and ( abroad firmly set at defiance. I Coming from a Northern man, whose sympathy , > with Southern feeling springs alone from an adhe- ^ renco to truth and the Constitution, cannot this do . urncnt suggest to us, oven in the heart of soutu Carolina, the straight path of duty ? Are we to be told that it is our part to stand by idly, and not lift up an arm in support of such a leader?" With the power of the government in the hands of Franklin Pierce we cau now be assured of no evil; and, certainly, it behooves us to sec to it that, at this heavy hour, the friends of the right are not found wanting. I * OUR ADVERTISING PAG^J. In order that our patrons may have the benefit of . as much reading-matter as the size of the Enquirer , will permit, we have mado fearful havoc with our advertising columns, this week, having marked out every advertisement except in cases where a further continuance has been positive11 ordered; and we shall continue to be studious to exclude from the page all matter which does not have a tendency either to fill the reader's oyc orour own coffers. We arc determined to mnke our paper valuablo to our readers, and if we fail, tho failure must be attributed to our want of ability to occupy properly the ample space provided for their entertainment. Twenty columns of solid reading-matter will be found in this issue. In relation to Patent-Medicine Advertisements our rule is fixed. We cannot sec the justice or the propriety of the course of many journals in giving place to those false and fulsome puffs of the poisonous nostrums of Yankee venders, at rates much below those at which home patrons are taxed. It not^only does incalculable injury but it is unjust to other advertising patrons: while it furnishes to the reader a rightful cause for complaint. These noti; ces will be excluded from our columns, unless- the full rates are paid, when, of course, we can have no election. Only one can be found in our paper? that of "Jacob's Cordial," which pays the contract ? 11 -d .1.. ?!,? price ana is, ocsiuos, a oouiucru rvuuiuujr, iu me value and^efiicacy of which we can ourselves bear ample testimony. ^ If we have marked out any advertisements the fur- < thcr continuance of which is desired, advertisers will of course give us notice. NEWSPAPER CHANGES. As usual, the advent of the new year brings to us x a quantity of Valedictories and Salutatories of out- -1 going and in-coming editors. It is a loud-speaking ( commentary on the wear and tear of body aud soul ^ which arc the incideuts of editorial life, that from t two to three years suffice to run the course of the editor's career. We could wish it were otherwise; s nothing would tend so much as the permanency of those who follow it to elevate the character and establish the dignity of the profession, and, on the other hand, editors have nothing to fear more derogatory than their own transient character. It is a pro- 1 fession the rewards of which arc always equal and E oftimes superior to merit, and it is to be regretted ^ that the burden cannot always be borne by mcritori- ^ #us men. ^ 1 Among the losses we have to regret is that of Dr. ? Logan, of the Abbeville Banner, an earnest and 0 truthful writer, and Gen. A. C. Gaolingtos, of the c Xetcberry Mirror, both of whom illustrated well the c character of South Carolina journalism. The place s of the former has been taken by Mr. James IIoe- 4 lingswortii, a practical printer. - ?? t TIIE WEATHER. c The past year has truly been a succession of fitful, r unseasonable seasons. We remember in the months j of July and August when the fire-side was almost ^ as cheerful as in mid-winter, and but recently it j seemed that the Autumn had made an unceremonious leap into the flowery lap of Spring. When rains c might havo been cxp'cctcd, the earth was parched, 11 our wells and springs and streams were almost dry, ^ and it required an effort to obtain a supply of water c for actual need. " u But with the new year, all things have conic right | again. We have had abundant rains, the wells are a full, and the strenms are overflowing with the flood, t Winter, too, has come in earnest. After two or three cold days to prepare us for it. on Friday night j we had an unusually heavy fall of snow, which, at L the time we write, on Tuesday, still covers the * ground to the depth of sevoral inches. In our Sou- j theru clime the winter's snow is always a genial, j welcome visitor?bringing with it a fund oigladness s for all. Boys and girls are themselves in earnest, and men and women arc boys and girls again. Our streets were lively all-day Saturday; every body played the gladiator and snow-balled every-body; while tingling bells, announcing a new era in things, made music to accompany the rollicking, all-inspiriting sport of many a dashing, headlong sleigh-ride! The opportunity was well appreciated and well improved, and wc can really hope for nothing better than many a return of the welcome visitor. The snow storm did not extend Southward as fains Columbia. In reference to the season there, the Carolina Times of Monday has the following:? The rains which have been so heavy and incessant for the last three weeks, with but a brief intermission, have at length ceased. On Friday and Satur- t day last, as fast as the rain fell, it froze on whatever it came in contact, and on Sunday morning, when the sun broke forth, clear and unclouded, one of the most brilliant scenes presented itself that ever was afforded to the human eye. Every tree, twig and spray, was coated with ice, and glittered and spark- t led in the sun with all the colors of the rainbow.? c: [any of tho houses became crystal palaces, and 1 lanced back the sun's rays upon the passing travel- i 1 :r. Even the blades of grass and weeds in the < elds, wore turned to crystal nnd added to the gene- , 1 al grandeur of the scene. So great was the weight 1 f the incumbent ice, that many fruit and ornamen- ; i il trees were broken down and destroyed, while otli- : ] rs were divested of their limbs, split and otherwise ! ijured. It was even dangerous to pass through the < trcets, on account of the falling branches and trees. < 'lie noise of tho falling and cracking wood resound- i d far and near. ' The Telegraph Company has suffered considerable 1 oss, and their business operations are entirely susended. Tho tain falling on the wires froze, and inreascd the weight to be sustained by the posts to ' uck a degree as to cause them to give way under the : ressure, and bring the wires to the ground. We nve hot heard of the estimated damage sustained, lthough the wire is down in every direction, but i resume it will soon be in working order again. Such a scene as the ono we havo above briefly aladed to, has not occurred in South Carolina for wenty years. We think it was in 1835, when a omewhat similar event happened, but then, if we emcmber correctly, the ice was dissolved on the folowing day. This year, the rain which fell and condoled on Friday night, was not dissolved when we rent to press last evehing; although the rays of the un yesterday had somewhat reduced the number of nicies, around the eaves of dwellings and trees, maiy of which were twelve and eighteen inches in I*,. A a on ovirlnnpn rtf ClI?tU UJ UUC lutu 111 UiUUI^lCl. HO Uu VTtwvuvw w. he groat weight of the circumambient ice on the i rees, we mention the fact, that a large oak tree, on lenate street, a little above the State Ilouse, one f tho few which the woodman's axo spared when ie was clearing the site of Columbia, has been split ,nd riven of its branches, leaving but one limb tanding on tho knotted and knarled trunk. Some f the branches broken off were fully five feet in ircumfcrence. Fortunately there has been but light rinds: had it blown heavily, the danger to life and imb, from falling trees &c., which has been considrable, would have been proportionably increased. DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION. in accordance wuu uie request we puuuou m uu?ther column the recommendation signed by about ifty of the members of the Legislature, looking to a 'cpresentation on the part of this State in the Cinsinnati Convention. It will be seen that the paper vas signedby Col. Witiiebspoon, and Messrs. Clawios, Wallace and Williams, of our Delegation.? (Vc do not speak advisedly ; but we are inclined to he belief that the meeting on Sales-day in March s a "fixed fact." r We have to regret that on this important question )f State policy there is not that entire unanimity of 'eeling which is so indispensable to the efficiency ind success of the contemplated movement It is jertain that the State will bo represented in the Convention, and in view of this fact an effort should ae made to bring about this representation so that it nay carry with it full force and virtue. To bring the matter home, wc havo to regret, too, that in deference to the opinion of our associate editor we must iCKnowieuge ine .LNQunusR to oe "ukc uhio a uousb iividcd against itsolf." This has hitherto kept our paper silent upon the subject?the only decided expression of opinion having been made briefly by the writer of this article, in one Of his letters of correspondence. Whatever may hereafter bo written in reference to this question will be readily ascribed to the proper person. Wc have been requested to publish the able letter if Mr. Orb to Col. Dudley. It will probably appear in our next issue. , . j -r THE EXAMINER. Wo have received, and but for want of room in our last issue would have noticed, the first number of Mr. Johnston's paper, with the above title, published in Columbia. It is printed in quarto form, and is altogether a very neat and handsome paper. While editor of the Carolinian, Mr. Johnston won a charlctcr which of late years has not been surpassed in the State. In the editorial department of the number of the Examiner before us, this enviable reputation promises to be well sustained. We hazard but little in predicting for Mr. Johnston's paper a complete success. Claiming to be a literary journal, its scope extends to every department of the practical?a combining which has not heretofore been attained and which will recommend it to the intelligent patronage of South Carolinians. Within the limits of our experience, no paper has been started in this State under more flattering auspices ; and to none would we bespeak the attention )f our readers more heartily than to the Examiner. [ts political principles will be " such as South Caroina has always upheld, and such above those of any )ther political organization as tend to the safety of 3outhcrn rights." The following extract deserves a copying:? "One thing we regard as indispensably necessary or the successful maintenance of our political and .ocial rights and institutions, and that is Southern Union. The true position of the State, touching her elations with the Federal Government, ought, in >ur opinion, to bo one of the calm but firm and watch'ul waiting, which must not be abandoned for any )remature or illusory invitations to action. The lext time for action, should action become necessary, villbe when the Southern States, having fully weigh;d the measure, and feeling in their full force and vith unanimity the wrongs they have endured or rhich may be threatened, shall assemble their sons o pronounce the decree of separation. The price of the Examiner is $2, in advance. We hall cheerfully receive and forward the names of my of our readers. MR. BOTCE'S SPEECH. In our last week's issue we commented upon the llibcral and contracted policy which, it seemed to us, narked the conduct of the Democratic caucus in Vashington, iu the adoption of the famous resolution. Ve have since met with a report of the views of our nembcr, Mr. Boyce, to which we take pleasure in ;iving publication. Mr. Boyce's courso is worthy if all commendation. If every member of the Demortic party had been actuated by a like spirit of concssioii and compromise, the strife for the speakerhip would long since have terminated well, and at he same time the democracy would not have been ailed upon to submit to anything inconsistent with heir own integrity. As it is, it is beyond the power if human ken to estimate the evil which may be the csult. In the debate, on Friday the 28th, on a resoution to unite the conservative elements of the House ipon the doctrines asserted in the Kansas-Nebraska Jill, we find the following.? Mr. Boyce of South Carolina approved of the resilution, though he thought that it might have been nore judiciously worded. They had been for weeks ngnged in vain struggles to elect a Speaker, and at he present time, so far as they could judge from cirumctances, were no nearer a result tliau they were ,t the beginning. It seemed to him, theD, that the imc lmd oome when they should begin to take their ntitude and longitude, and see where the land laid, 1 ,ud see if there was any probability of organizing he House upon a conservative basis. In the remarks which he was about to submit he lid not wish to be understood as compromising the 1 )emocratic party, because he did not consider that < ic belonged to it. He acted with it when he approved its course, and when he did not he acted with limself. lie belonged to the Calhoun wing of the 1 )emocratic Party, and did not consider himself as i tound by the action of its caucus, or in any way < ubject to its' rules. He would further add that in ecommending the course he should he was not ncuatcd by any indifference to Mr. llicbardson. If < lc had had his choice of the members of the House, . hat gentleman would have been his first choice for , lie honorable position of Speaker. j < Having made these preliminary remarks, lie would [ k ake up the question of organization, and inquire j dint was it that prevented an election? There . c rerc three parties here, neither one of which had a j f majority of the whole number of votes. Mr. Banks, j t ccordiug to bis understanding, rcprescntea tnc ex- i a remc anti-slavery feeling of the North, and he in- c erred that the party which sustained him did so be- , a ause he occupied that position. Mr. Richardson j t tood upon the Kansas and Nebraska bill, and Mr. j s 'ullor had declared that he would stand by existing : c Jgislation and that he was against the further agi- r ition of the slavery question. Practically, so far ' c s the organization of the House was concerned, I t lie two last named candidates occupied the same ' r osition, and between their position and that occu- j v icd by Mr. Banks there was an impassible gulf.? i; f those who voted for Mr. Fuller were unwilling to j C ustaiu Mr. Banks, which lie believed to be the case, ' 1; p.d if it was assumed that those gentlemen who | li irew scattering votes?could organize if the would j d xst their votes for the same candidate; and if they i t: iad this power, wag it not their duty to exercise it ? Why would they not do so ? He might be told be- { jause it would be injurious to party. Party had been too often the bone of Republics ; and, though it would do very weir in its place, yet the country should not be sacrificed to it. They should forget party for a time at least, and throw off its trammels, md perform the first great duty which devolved upjn them as members of the House, viz: organize up- i jn a conservative basis. Ho trusted that they would ' not be driven from the performance of this great duty by the fear of party. It seemed to him that the two parties which supported Mr. Richardson and Mr. Fuller should, without any formal understanding, withdraw their candidates and cast their votes for > whom they pleased. He for one, would vote for any man, Northern or Southern, and without reference 1 to the questions of Americanism and Catholicism, J who would be willing to organize the House upon a fTt/k conservative basis. VB the: state: usgislattiubs. The Legislatures of Maine, Massachusetts, New wH York, Pennsylvania, and of the Territory of Nebraska fl are in session. The first named was organized on fl the 1st instant, by the fusion of Democrats and old- 1 line Whigs. The Massachusetts Legislature elected I American officers. The Governor, in his Message, I recommends the repeal of the Personal Liberty Bill J nasscd at the last session. The lower branch of the ifl New York Legislature has made several ineffectual attempts at organization. Strenuous exertions were made for a fusion of Hards and Softs, without effect. The last ballot stood?Odell, American, 40; Pbexdebgast, Republican, 24; Bailby, Hard, 28; Boyle, ; 9. The same division of parties holds in New York as in tho Congress, with a marked distinction, however, in relative strength. In tho Pennsylvania Legislature, bills have been introduced into both houses for repealing the liquor law. The message of the Governor recommends further action cn the subject; re-affirms his former opinion on national affairs; and congratulates the State upon the condition of her finances. The Missouri Legislature has adjourned, after passing not less than 770 acts. Among*them was one to loan to the Pacific Rail Road Company the sum of $250,000 for four months, to meet the imme- *1 diate wants of the company; and another which pre- 1 vents the selling or giving away of liquor on Sunday, 9 on penalty of forfeiture of license, and inability to 1 obtain a new one for two yean. - H In the way of legislation, the Missoorians afford 1 an example which might well be improved, .in some fl degree at least, in our own State. ] I. O. o. F. J At the last regular meeting of Trimty Lodge, Independent Order of. Odd Fellows, in this place, the following persons were elected Officers for the yearj^^^P^ ALFRED STILWELL, N. 0. twoataS mrvsnw rr n ? r. \J. * JAMES FINLEY, P. S. f T. ** L. BLOOMBERG, Secretary, ALFRED CRAVEN, Conductor. WILLIAM DICKSON, Warden. f JACOB FLACH, 0. G. B. DERRER, I. G. SALE-DAY On Monday last, Sale-day, no events occurred which call for special comment. The several tracts ^ of land and negroes advertised were sold at prices more in accordance with the actual condition of mon- ^ ey affairs. Thj sale of the "Yorkvillc Hotel" was J postponed until Sale-day in.February. 1 BUY YOUR STAMPS. j After the first of January, the Act of Congress re- 1 quires that stamps or stamped envelopes be used in the pre-payment of letter postage. Either can be procured at the Post Office. MORE WITCHCRAFT. | In addition to the record of the sad results of tho working of Northern free society, published last week, we have an account of other most inhuman ] murders committed under the same influences. Tho following is the purport of a telegraph despatch, dated at New Haven, Connecticut, January 2 Two murders were committed in Woodbridgc, six miles from this city, yesterday, by Charles Sanford, Cj an insame man,'about twenty-six years old. It is as) L n ?-? tL- ? ? ? '? 1 * * ' nupiivsvu iic iiu ui lue wouua cnoppmg, ana uiac when he carao out ho killed Enoch Sperry, who was 1 riding by in his sleigh. Mr. Sperry's head was cat off. lie was the farther of N. 1). Sperry, -.rotary of the State. Sanford then went to the home of Ichabod Umbcrfield, a farmer, and killed him with Mm his axe. Sanford is in jail. He appears to be a raving maniac. He is the nephew of Alemcron Sanford, ^ who was one of the Wakemanitel arrested on suspi- ! cion of connection with the recent murder of Justus ' ? Matthews. Santord has been two or three times at the Insane Retreat. To-day he is muttering a senseless jargon with occasional oaths: I J AFFAIRS IN WASHINGTON". fl The recent storm having thrown the telegraph lines ? out of working order, we have no very late intelU- I gence from the soat of government. At last accounts 1 the House continued to ballot industriously for Spea- I ker, with no more decisive indications as to the re- 1 suit. The probabilities grow strong, however, in favor of the election of Bakes, the Republican candidate. On the 3d at resolution to make Mr. Boyce Speaker, after various amendments, was laid on the table. On the 4th, Mr. Boyce made a speech by way of personal explanation, in the course of which he took occasion to comment severely and with profound regret upon the fanaticism of a great party based on the single proposition of hostility to tho institutions of the South. "If that party obtained possession of J the Government," he thought "disunion must be the result, which may God forbid." Mr. Allison, of ^B Pennsylvania, in reply said that there was no dispo- ^B sition to make war on slavery in the States, but the B opposition was against its farther extension. B Upon the reading of the Message in the Senate. ' B the soveral most prominent and influential Senators H rendered in their unqualified approval. In reference ; fl the present condition of our foreign relations as sta ted in the Message, tho sentiment was almost unan imous; so much so that wo are led to Regard the I further progress of the difficulty with painful apprehension. The following telegraphic report will be read with interest; especially that portion giving the purport of the remarks of Mr. Clayton, who negotiated the treaty and is presumed to he competent to its full exphmation: I "Atcr the reading of the Message, Mr. Clayto|k | made some remarks relative to the treaty of April I 19, 1850, in order to show the people of the United I States the strength of the position assumed by this I Government, relative to the Central American a'- H fairs, and tho injustice of the position taken by fl Great Britain, with regard to the construction of , that freaty. He agreed generally with all that the: President has stated, and contrasted the pacific character of this country, with the aggressive policy always pursued by Great Britain. Mr. Seward inquired whether the ground taken by the President has allowed the British Government to take issue regarding the construction of treaty, viz i That it was merely prospective in its operation and had no reference to the actual occupation by that country, of the territory in question, was the understanding of the Government of the United States H jrhen the treaty was made, Mr. Clayton then being Secretary of State. KM Mr. Clayton replied that it was an entirely new jfl :onstruction; something of which he had never beore beard. lie never dreamed of such a construeion being given to the language of the treaty. Does my suppose, (Clayton said,) that I, in the possession if my senses, entered into a treaty with Britain, to Unw her tn remain in nnacpacirm nf _u.i_ ~<* ? ? VI IUO nuuit Ul his Isthmus, merely because she had been in possesion of it, and then sign a treaty to prohibit my own ouutry from taking possession, leaving her to reuain undisturbed? What motive could an Amerian Senate have had in voting for it ? Is it possible hat any man can believe for a single moment, such i view was in contemplation by the negotiations, chen it was agreed that neither will occupy, colonte, fortify or exercise dominion in Central America? )ccupy, means, first to take possession, andjsecondy to keep possession. Great Britain agreed to do either; also agreeing, that they would not exercise ominion there. He concluded, by offering a resoluion that the usual number of copies of the Message